Lots of my sugar consumption takes place while I’m working. Anyone who listens to my podcast knows I’m a long-time believer in employing snacks in the writing process. Completing an essay without junk food is inconceivable to me. Sometimes I feel like a lab rat hitting the button for another treat to keep me going, lest I avoid my essay through... See more

I can picture telling my former (favorite) therapist about them, frustrated with their insufficiency, and her shrugging and saying, “Sounds like they’re working for you!”

Years ago at Man Repeller, we interviewed a woman (sorry I can’t remember her name) who told us that the only way to get everything she wanted was to purposely let some balls drop in her life.

She was always tempering my expectations of myself, reminding me that just because something could technically be done better didn’t necessarily mean it had to be—and that in fact, doing it poorly might be allowing something else to be done better. You can waste a lot of energy trying to live up to a technical standard, or busy your soul with shame... See more